The pipeline transportation of coal in water slurries has many advantages but also includes a major disadvantage; its requirement for huge quantities of water. In the western United States, which contains much of the country's coal, the scarcity of water is severe. What water is available in these regions is barely sufficient for domestic use, and shipping the water out in coal slurries may not be attractive. While recycling of the water to the origin of the slurry pipelines would overcome much of the water supply problem, the water requirements would still remain substantial, and the cost of recycling might very well be prohibitive.